ABOUT US
Founders of KindCraft: Stephanie Whisner & Courtney Smith
Serving in the community is something that is very important to both of us. We wanted to share this passion with our children but finding service opportunities that our young children could participate in was no easy task. In November of 2015, we decided to give it a shot and make “no sew” blankets for Children’s Mercy South. We invited a few friends and were thrilled so many were excited to make blankets with us. By the time we were finished, we were able to take 50-60 blankets to Children’s Mercy South.
We wanted to keep the momentum going, so we decided to line up monthly service events to encourage families to stay involved. We figured if we can devote 1 night or more a week for a sport or activity, couldn’t we devote 1 day a month for serving our community?
For our January event, we lined up an opportunity to serve a local outreach, Mission Southside, with toiletry bags. We were hoping to fill 50-60 bags for them and we ended up filling 245 bags! Hundreds of people signed up to be a part of this event and the excitement grew beyond anything we ever imagined. The heart of our community to serve and teach our children the importance of compassion and service has been overwhelming. We are so blessed to be a part of something so amazing!
So why are we doing this? Why is this so important to us? It’s important to us because our kids will follow our example…and if we are being honest here, we are not always the best example. We constantly show our children the not-so-great sides of us and often wonder how we will ever get this parenting thing right. Regardless of how many times we mess up, we want our kids to know love. Not only to feel love, but how important it is to share love as well. We want our kids to know that their parents love Jesus and are following his greatest commandment, to love Him and to love others. We want them to know how blessed they are and how carefree their life is compared to others. We want them to be able to see a need in the world and be moved to do something about it. By participating in the programs and activities we have designed, we hope our youth will develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills to become competent, caring and contributing adults that make a positive difference in their communities.
Natalie Grant’s song, “Be One,” has become a mission for our families. Some of our favorite lyrics from the song are, “Why sit around and wait for a miracle to come, when we could be one!”
KINDCRAFT BOARD MEMBERS
President & Co-founder of KindCraft
Courtney Smith
KindCraft Secretary
Molly Reynolds
Co-Founder of KindCraft
Stephanie Whisner
KindCraft Treasurer
Theresa Stoker
KindCraft Merchandise Coordinator
Ashley Vardijan
KindCraft Board Member
Afton Ratzlaff
WE ARE TEACHING COMPASSION THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE
We are spreading kindness across the Kansas City area.
Mouse over the map below to see a sampling of the impact we've made in our community.
11,000 meals assembled
265 bare necessities bags
for Something to Eat
for the homeless population in both Kansas and Missouri and families toured the Uplift truck that serves the homeless
Taught children to show compassion to kids with disabilities such as SMA
Jadon's Hope
though a local organization called Little Light and taught our children to show compassion for families who have a kiddo with heart trouble in the hospital.
51 Care bags for inpatient children at Children's Mercy
for children who are less fortunate from all over the Metro area including kids from Title 1 schools in Olathe as well as families in Metro Lutheran Ministry’s Empowerment Program Instilled compassion for others by helping children realize not all kids have the means to books or birthday celebrations.
Assembled 450 birthday bags
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What exactly is KindCraft?A non-profit organization that provides monthly service projects for families.
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What is your mission?Our mission is to create a community of compassionate children through engagement and involvement in humanitarian service projects related to aiding, clothing and feeding those in need.
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What age group is KindCraft geared towards?Families with children of all ages–however, everyone is welcome!
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What is the difference between KindCraft events and other service opportunities?When we started KindCraft, our goal was to have a monthly service event for families. Recently, we have had a lot of requests for our group to help at other events in the community as well. We want to provide as many service opportunities as possible for our members, so we created 2 different categories to help people understand what are our events and what are other events we are supporting. KindCraft events are the once a month events that we put on and run & the other service opportunities are events that we are supporting but not organizing or running.
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Is there a member fee?There is not a member fee. We do require volunteers to become a member of our website but there is no fee required.
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How can I get involved?Register for events, donate to the cause, get some Kindness Cards & complete random acts of kindness with your family, invite your friends & spread the word!
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How do I sign up for events?There are two ways to sign up for events. The first way is to click on the RSVP button on the hompage section of "Upcoming Events." Then follow the on screen prompts. The second way is to visit the Get Involved Page and click on "Sign Up". Then follow the on screen prompts.
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How do I edit my RSVP for an event?If you have already RSVP'd yes to attend an event but need to update the number of people attending or you simply can no longer attend, please complete our Update RSVP form.
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How can I sponsor an event?To sponsor a KindCraft event, we ask a minimum of $300 donation to KindCraft. Your sponsorship allows you to be featured on our website, social media pages, and also the opportunity to speak and/or be present at the event. Please contact our President, Courtney Smith, if you are interested in sponsoring an event.
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What are Kindness Cards and where can I get them?We really wanted to encourage our kids to show kindness on a regular basis, in addition to our service events. We also wanted to provide something for families that may not be able to participate in the events for whatever reason that may be. Kindness cards are used to do random acts of kindness for others. For example, you could pay for the customer behind you in a Starbucks line and have the cashier give them the card. You could bake cookies for a local fire station, attach the card and deliver them! Tape a quarter to the card and tape it to a gumball machine at the grocery store. Kids are so creative and I bet they will enjoy choosing how best to use the cards. Try to challenge them to come up with 10 different acts of kindness! The cards serve a dual purpose. They encourage kids to share kindness with others and they also help spread the word about our organization. The “Kindness Cards” come in packs of 10 for a suggested donation of $1.00. You can pick them up at our monthly events but they are also available at: TeaElla (the comfy chic boutique) 14101 W 135th St. Olathe, KS 66062 Finan Chiropractic 9209 W 110th St Overland Park, KS 66210
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Can I donate?Yes! KindCraft qualifies as a 501(c)3 organization and therefore contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law. Many of our events require supply donations. Please visit our Supplies Needed page for a current list of needs. Click here to donate through PayPal.
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Do we have to own a KindCraft shirt to participate?No. The kids love having them but they are not a requirement.
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Where did the idea for KindCraft come from?We were looking for service opportunities for families with kids of all ages and found it was more difficult then we hoped. Our goal, through KindCraft, was to provide an easy way for families to participate in monthly service projects. See our full story here.
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How can I host a KindCraft event at my location?If you are interested in hosting a KindCraft event at your church, school, or place of business, we can come to you! For a minimum donation of $600, we will come to you and run our typical event from your location. This is a great option if you would like to get your coworkers, church members, or school involved in an event. Contact Courtney Smith to discuss logistics!
KINDCRAFT IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
TESTIMONIALS
KindCraft- a beautiful space for our kids to know love. Not just know love but to share it too! To be able to see a need in the world and be moved to do something about it. Their activities and programs allow our youth to develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills to become competent, caring and contributing adults that make a positive difference in their communities. From one mommy to the next, thank you for your incredible efforts to help us instill these most precious attributes in our children!
— Kristal Ronnebaum, Overland Park, KS 2/8/19